Cause for celebration: Old Town lightens up

Retailers only could sell stuff that was around from the mid-1800s. Colorful iPod covers were out. So were ballcaps.

And the freefall began.

“I had not seen anything like that,” Roy Stearns, a state parks spokesman, said of the dramatic drop in sales. “It was a unique outcome, to say the least.”

The department is now relenting a bit on the historical accuracy, Stearns conceded. While maintaining that integrity is still part of the deal for the new operator, it can be done in a more pleasing fashion, he said.

In short: The umbrellas are back.

Old Town is coming back too, said Ross, who took over for Delaware North when it wanted out of the contract. (Wonder why?)

Sales have gone up 25 percent in the past year, even in a down economy, he said. The Square of the Past? It’s now called Fiesta de Reyes, meaning, “Festival of Kings.”

“We’re trying to do things to lure back locals,” Ross said. “It’s going to take time. Diane had 30 years to get there.”

It is more festive. I went there the other night and had a margarita, and not because I was driven to it by dreary scenery. On a nearby stage, young girls in Mexican dresses danced. Gas fire pits were aglow — hey, they were around in the 1800s, right? — to keep people warm.

My waiter, Sergio Hernandez, has worked in Old Town since 1986, he said. It was kind of tough, when Delaware North controlled things. Crowds were down. It wasn’t as colorful.

“It’s way better now.”

Well, that’s good. It’s a shame Old Town lost several years trying to rediscover itself. But at least that might just be history.